With the Canada Games just five months away, the Games centre leaking money and a dearth of land for residential development, the next batch of politicians will face unique challenges.

Before the deadline passed on Thursday, 12 contenders for Whitehorse council stepped up to the plate. Four are running for mayor and eight for the city’s six council seats.

City councillor Bev Buckway, Ray Kitz and Robert Barry are challenging incumbent mayor Ernie Bourassa, who is seeking a third term.

“Certainly the advantage is that I’m familiar with the major issues facing the city and I’ve tried my best over the past number of years to push the city in a direction that would resolve some of those issues and we’re very close to seeing the fruits of that work,” said Bourassa.

“I’m looking to see to completion the projects we’ve started, like the Canada Games, which are coming on us in just five months, and waterfront development — we’ve taken big strides on that, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”

In 2003, Bourassa beat out three rivals, Sue Edelman, Dee Balsam and Samson Hartland, to take 40 per cent of the vote and the mayor’s chair.

“It’s not that I’m better or worse (than Bourassa), I’m just different,” Buckway said recently.

If elected, she’ll look at making affordable housing available, improving the city’s infrastructure and developing a plan to ride out the lull after the Canada Winter Games.

Kitz was unprepared to talk about his platform on Friday. Barry could not be reached before press time.